20+ Puzzling Facts About the Mayan Civilization They Don’t Teach in Schools

The Mayans are one of the most incredible, incomprehensible and at the same time fascinating people who have ever lived on our Planet. The unique characteristics of this civilization appeal to both us and the scientific community, for having left behind many questions that have been waiting for centuries for answers. To this day, the smartest people in the world are still trying to decipher the enigmas of this pre-Columbian culture.

O awesome.club decided to delve into the mysterious Mayan world to discover the most interesting facts about their civilization that disappeared as suddenly as it originated.

You Mayan and Siberian peoples are similar for a reason. Historians believe that the roots of this civilization must be sought in the history of migrants from Asia. In fact, the Mayans arrived on the American continent from Siberia during the last ice age. It took years for their ancestors to take root in the hot jungles of Central America.

By the way, the indigenous population of Chukotka (far east of Russia), the Chukchi, uses the vigesimal numbering system instead of the decimal. And the Mayans used it too.

The development of civilization took place on the territory of the following modern countries: Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador and the western part of Honduras. The researchers found about thousand cities of Mayan culturebut even today not all of them have been excavated and studied by archaeologists.

The Mayans built special temple complexes, such as the Pyramid of Kukulcan, whose oldest constructions date back to the 4th century BC And such structures had their own characteristics:

The buildings were made with local limestone and then covered with paint.🇧🇷 For this reason, during Mayan times, temples had a different appearance and were red in color.

If you stand right in front of the pyramid’s main staircase and clap your hands, you may hear an echo in response, very similar to the sound of quetzalsbirds revered by the Indians of Mesoamerica.

Each of the temple’s four staircases has 91 steps, totaling 364. Adding to the platform at the top of the pyramid, which joins all four staircases, there are 365 steps in total, which is the number of days in a year🇧🇷

The arrangement and shape of the pyramids were designed so that once a year, the staircase casts a complex snake-shaped shadowmarking the beginning of the spring equinox.

It is not news to anyone that the Mayans practiced sacrifice, but few know that, for that time and place, they were not considered such a bloodthirsty people. They sacrificed people much less often than, for example, the Aztecs. Most rituals resulted from events such as an unsuccessful harvest, war, or associated with the consecration of new leaders or temples.

However, the Mayans often sacrificed prisoners from neighboring tribes with whom they fought and offered them to the gods. They also practiced bloodshed as a ritual, in which religious and political leaders pierced the soft parts of bodies and then smeared the blood on their idols, bowing to them.

Contrary to advances in many areas of social life, the Mayans lacked metallurgy, being technically in the Stone Age and lacking knowledge of more advanced tools. However, they had their own ways of dealing with enemies, for example, the Mayan warriors used wasps and their nests (placed in gourds) as throwing weapons. If successfully dropped, these insect “bombs” would scare away enemies.

The Mayans had very specific concepts of beauty, and very different from the Europeans. These people considered strabismus as one of the signs of attractiveness.🇧🇷 To intentionally develop it, a rubber ball was tied to the child at eye level. In addition, the Mayans purposely deformed the frontal bone of the skull, giving it a flattened shape. For this, a wooden plank was firmly attached to the baby’s forehead five days after birth.

According to the Mayans, the elongated shape of the head gave the person a noble appearance, better holding the adornments on the forehead. Nobles would also artificially change the shape of the nose, creating an eagle’s beak profile (often with the help of layers of clay or wax).

The Mayan civilization’s ideal of beauty was basically the following: a thin face with prominent cheekbones, an elongated head with a very flat forehead, slanted and preferably slanted eyes, a large nose curved down, a small mouth, a rounded chin. and protruding. One of the hypotheses was that their face was more like an ear of cornthe staple food of the Mayans.

As for the physique, noble people, both male and female, were often portrayed as quite plump and even with a prominent belly. Possibly, having a few extra pounds was considered a sign of material well-being and prosperity🇧🇷

The Mayans had the custom of covering the face and body with a geometric tattoo, in which the skin before being painted was slightly cut. The greater the number of tattoos on the body, the braver the man was considered, as the technique with which they applied the ink to the skin was extremely painful, making the person sick for days. Those who didn’t want to be tattooed were ridiculed🇧🇷

There is a belief that in ancient times people lived little. However, this is not entirely true. One of the Mayan rulers, the legendary King Pakal, died at the age of 80, and for 68 years he ruled the kingdom.

The Mayans performed astronomical research at the top of the pyramids without any instruments.🇧🇷 The only tool they used were crossed poles to fix the observation point.

In fact, the Mayans did not disappear. Today, in the world, there are about 7 million descendants from the same people who created this ancient civilization. Some are still dedicated to textile production, using ancient techniques.

The Mayans were the only Native American civilization that dominated navigation. They used canoes of different sizes and could sail thousands of miles in them. There is evidence that they managed to reach the waters of the Pacific Ocean.

The Mayan calendar did not predict the end of the world in 2012🇧🇷 Astronomers and experts in various fields have declared this point of view to be pseudoscientific, because, in their opinion, the proponents of this theory just wanted to get rich. Indeed, the Mayan calendar witnessed the end of one era and the beginning of another.

Thanks to remarkable achievements in astronomy, Mayan priests were able to determine the dates of solar and lunar eclipses and thus show the people that they had control over nature. It was in this way that clergy representatives achieved authority in society.🇧🇷

Modern research proves that even before the conquerors arrived in pre-Hispanic lands, the Mayan kingdom had already lost its former power. This was largely due to the absence of a single centralized state and the intense and destructive wars associated with the struggle for the throne.

In addition, drought also contributed to the downfall of the Mayans, causing famine and leading to a reduction in population. The rulers, wishing to remedy the situation, increased the number of sacrifices, which did not help much, even causing the people to begin to doubt the power of the kings. And so swung the pendulum of the decline of that great civilization.

According to historical theory, when world empires fall apart, civilization often becomes part of another government or ends up falling under the power of a stronger neighbor. In the case of the Mayans, its later development was actively influenced by the culture of the European conquerors🇧🇷

The history of the Mayans still attracts the attention of scientists, archaeologists and teachers, while the dream of adventurous travelers is always to take a trip to the homeland of this people. The Mayans achieved many achievements that many ancient civilizations never dreamed of. Remembering that not all of its cities have yet been discovered and explored. Many of them remain lost to this day in the dense jungle awaiting their moment.

Would you like to drop everything now to visit the incredible Pyramid of Kukulcan? Comment!